New Year's Eve at Sanctuary
by Yunilicious
Summary: Sagittarius Aiolos had invited Gemini Saga to his Temple in order to discuss an important matter. With the Pope's succession at hand, Saga has little reason to believe any good could come out of this. Little did he know how much he underestimated his foe...
1. Chapter 1

Happy New Year everyone! :)

This is Yuni and I'm very excited to share my first SS fic with all of you! This is a story that I was planning to have ready for the New Year's Eve but I couldn't come up with anything good at the time, so I decided to upload this one now! The story is set thirteen years before the classic series and features the Gold Saints as kids. I hope you will enjoy it as much I did. Feel free to review! ^^

Last but certainly **not** least, special thanks to my wonderful beta reader Thrudgelmir2333, for helping me out! ^^

 **Disclaimer:** Saint Seiya and its characters belong to Masami Kurumada.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 _Sanctuary, 30 December 1973_

A lone boy was walking towards one of the Zodiac Temples. A few minutes before the teen had been told by a servant that one of his fellow Gold Saints had asked to meet him in his Temple, saying that he had something important to discuss about. For this reason, Gemini Saga saw best not to wait and instead headed straight towards their meeting place in order to settle things as soon as possible. It didn't take long and soon he was standing outside the entrance of the ninth house. Without hesitating, Saga stepped inside where he was greeted by a smiling Sagittarius.

Ever since it was announced by Pope Shion that a new Pope was to succeed him soon, a fifteen year old Saga and the one year younger Aiolos both knew that it would be one of them to succeed Shion, since the only other person who could have succeeded him—Libra Dohko—was never present at the Sanctuary.

Consequently, Saga had started to develop bitter feelings for Aiolos, since he wanted to be the one to succeed Shion no matter what. Aiolos on the other hand, didn't seem to care much about which one of them would manage to succeed the Pope; he had tried to tell Saga many times he had no real stake, but the latter wasn't willing to listen to the Sagittarius, believing that Aiolos wasn't taking him seriously. This time however, the bandana-totting Gold Saint had decided to take matters in his hands and had invited the Gemini Saint to his Temple.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Saga asked with a serious tone in his voice. The teenager was clad in the Gemini's golden armor and his posture looked rather menacing.

It was usually considered courteous to wear the Cloth as an official garment in meetings between Gold Saints, but the two had known each other well enough to forego the habit in the usual encounters, or so Aiolos thought; his instinct must have been correct, then, and the Sagittarius' old friend probably now considered him an adversary.

A slight frown of unhappiness passed through his lips as a result. "First, let me thank you for accepting my invitation and coming to the Sagittarius Temple, Saga." Aiolos said in his usual friendly manner, "and secondly, if you don't mind me asking,...why the Gemini Cloth? It's just a meeting between friends." he questioned as he turned around to face him. Saga now noticed that Aiolos was wearing his regular clothes with a white apron on top.

The Gemini was confused, "I thought you told me you had something important to tell me and I assumed that—" he was cut off by the waving hand of a chuckling Aiolos.

"What, you probably thought that I had accepted your challenge to a duel?" the Sagittarius guessed. "I'm sorry but, I have no interest in competing against a friend-"

"You mean a friend with whom you've competed with all your life?"

"-for the _role of the Pope_!" Aiolos stressed, slightly sick of the constant climate of tension that had been built up between the two. "...Being the next Pope suits me about as much as a glove on a foot, so I don't want to fight with a friend over it." Such a reply was very typical of Aiolos.

"Then, why did you call me here?" Saga asked, unsure of what to make of his fellow Gold Saint's reply.

Aiolos wiped his hands in his apron, "I wanted to talk to you regarding the New Year's Eve." The Sagittarius who had been standing in front of a table, now moved aside, revealing that he had been preparing a cake much to Saga's surprise.

"A King's Cake…?" Saga remarked, looking at the Greek, sugar-topped cake on which Aiolos had put on powdered colors and the number of the New Year, _1974_ , written on it in deliciously dark chocolate. The cake and the image of the Sagittarius wearing an apron, brought a small smile on Saga's face, "you are certainly fond of keeping up traditions aren't you, Aiolos?"

"Yeah, he he…I cannot deny that," the teenager let a small laugh escape his lips.

"You did put a coin inside the cake, right?" the Gemini asked, referencing another tradition, and it seemed to Aiolos that Saga had put aside his rivalry with him for the time being. Apparently it was a good idea to remind his friend of something unrelated to the Sanctuary, something that brought the two together as friends.

And nothing was better than the celebration of the New Year.

"Yes, I did!" the Sagittarius replied enthusiastically, "I am sure our young comrades will have tons of fun searching for the gold coin." Aiolos pointed out, before explaining the reason why he had called Saga in his Temple. "You see, with my kid brother Aiolia and young Shaka joining our ranks, the Gold Saints are finally complete, and since the majority of them are still children I decided to celebrate this event by delivering gifts to all of them during the New Year's Eve. However, I promised Aiolia that tomorrow I would spend the entire day with him thus I can't really pose as Santa Claus, so, Saga, I was thinking…that maybe _you_ could be the one to appear as Santa Claus to them."

The Gemini sighed, "Aiolos you know…as much as I would like to help you this is just not my kind of thing." While he understood Aiolos's reasoning and while it was true that their comrades were still youngsters who wanted to enjoy things that normal kids do, at the same time, Saga couldn't help but cringe at Aiolos' suggestion. A Gold Saint dressed as Santa Claus? That would be the most embarrassing moment in his life, who would take Saga seriously after that? His pride as Athena's Saint would be at stake. The Sagittarius knew that this would be his reaction, but believed that he could convince the Gemini to change his mind; it turned out that this was harder than what he had expected. "I'm sorry Aiolos, but I cannot help you."

Saga told the Sagittarius that he had to return to the Gemini Temple and asked if his friend needed anything else, "Nah Saga, you can go, thanks for listening to me anyways, I'll see what I can do." Aiolos replied, "If you change your mind you could try one of the costumes I bought..." Though Saga didn't reply; he just kept moving forward. When he was out of sight, Aiolos let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Oh well it can't be helped…I guess I'll just go with plan B." he pondered, scratching his head.

* * *

 _Sanctuary, 31 December 1973, thirty minutes before midnight_

"What did you call us here for, old man?" a little boy with dark purple hair questioned; he was sitting sloppily on the right side of a couch. On the left side of the couch, was seated another little boy who was holding a rose with one hand and was rubbing his eyes with the other.

"You should be more respectful towards his Holiness, Cancer Saint." This time, a blonde boy sitting on the floor—in a meditative posture—addressed Deathmask.

"Says Mr. Closer-to-God! What good deed of humility made you so preachy?!"

A kid Aiolia who was also sitting next to the Virgo nodded his head; "I agree with Shaka, you can't just call the Pope an old man! My brother always says the Pope is the wisest man in all of Gree-"

"You two shut it. I don't wanna hear another peace-loving freak and a newbie lecturing me. It makes me sick in the stomach! Hey, say something Aphrodite!" Deathmask groaned.

But his friend didn't seem to care much about the Cancer Saint's little dispute as he had been struggling to keep his cyan eyes open the entire time. "I wanna go to sleep already…I'm tired…" the Pisces complained.

"Try to stay awake for a little more Aphrodite," The man sitting on a throne spoke, "otherwise you'll miss Santa and his gifts." The Pope's words caught the little boy's attention.

"Santa…? You mean Santa Claus…?" Aphrodite looked at the Pope—his beautiful eyes sparkling with curiosity. The man nodded, smiling. "He will be here soon, that's why I invited the Gold Saints to my chambers." Shion explained. Sitting on the opposite side of the Pope, a young boy with dark blue hair literally jumped off the couch, when he heard the Pope's words.

"Yay! I am gonna see Santa Claus!" he exclaimed happily.

"Sit down Milo, there's no need to get overenthusiastic about it." The teal-haired boy sitting next to him addressed his friend in a composed manner. The child was wearing glasses and had been reading a book quietly.

"Exactly, after all Santa Claus doesn't exist." Deathmask pointed out, "right Aphrodite?" he asked turning to his best friend.

"I think he's sleeping." The green-haired boy sitting on the couch between Deathmask and Aphrodite noted; indeed the Pisces Saint had rested his head on Shura's shoulder, snoring slightly. Seeing this, Deathmask cupped his hands around his mouth and leaned towards a sleeping Aphrodite shouting: " _I said…_ Santa Claus _doesn't exist_ , right _Aphrodite_?!"

His voice startled the sleeping Pisces awake. "Uhh, what? I don't know…" he said and leaned his head on the Capricorn's shoulder once again.

"Santa Claus does exist!" the Scorpio yelled angrily at his fellow Gold Saint. "He's gonna come and give us all presents and just coal for your socket cause you're a douche!"

"No he doesn't. Santa Claus is a myth that the grown-ups made up to trick stupid little kids like yourself!" Deathmask exclaimed with a smug smirk on his face.

"Take that back, snot-face!" Milo shouted pointing a red fingernail towards a relaxed Cancer Saint who didn't seem to flinch in the slightest. Instead, Deathmask crossed his arms behind his head and placed his legs on the table in front of him.

"Or else what? Ya gonna 'pinch' me to death? Sure, bring it on, just be careful not to break your only long nail." He commented, mocking Milo.

"Grrr, I'll show you! _Scarlet_ …" Milo exclaimed as he was about to launch an attack towards Deathmask, but he stopped immediately when he heard the cries of a baby. A crib had been placed right next to the Pope's throne and this was where the cries were coming from. At the same time, Milo felt someone grabbing his arm; it was his best friend Camus. The Aquarius shook his head. Milo clicked his tongue.

The Scorpio now threw himself on the couch, crossing his arms, while glaring at a smirking Deathmask. Meanwhile, the cries of the baby could be heard from all corners of the room. Next to the crib was standing the taller and most muscular among the kids. "Shame on you guys, you woke Athena up." The Taurus Saint spoke.

Aphrodite put his hands over his ears, "Please make it stop…" he said as he was unable to sleep.

"This is all Deathmask's fault," Milo reminded with a frown.

The purple-haired boy shrugged his shoulders, "It's not my fault that you get upset so easily."

"Cut it out Deathmask, Milo." The Pope said calmly. "You are both Gold Saints, you shouldn't be fighting with each other. Besides it makes Athena sad," he stood himself up and lifted the baby girl from the crib. Shion held the little Goddess in his arms, "don't worry Athena everything's fine now."

When baby Athena had calmed down, Shion carefully handed her over to his disciple, Aries Mu, who was seated on a chair next to him, "Take good care of her," the Pope said with a smile before turning towards the rest of the Gold Saints. "No, Mu, don't rock her with telekinesis, use your hands." The Pope marked glancing at an old clock on the wall, "It's almost time. We should be cutting the King's Cake soon."

"Yeah, I'm sorry for worrying you, Athena." Milo apologized, feeling rather embarrassed for his earlier behavior, though the worst was feeling he was proving a certain Cancer's point. Deathmask also said he was sorry, but his words didn't convince the Scorpio. He would always apologize just to appeal to the Pope but afterwards he would cause trouble again. It was only a matter of time.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes**_

A few things that you might find useful:

1) In Greece, Santa is supposed to bring the gifts on New Year's Eve, rather than on Xmas day (which is mostly the case in Western Europe.)

2) 'King's Cake' is actually called 'King's Pie' in Greece but it can be either a cake or a pie and it's known as Βασιλόπιτα ( _Vasilopita_ ). It is a New Year's Day cake which contains a hidden coin which gives good luck to the receiver for the rest of the year.


	2. Chapter 2

The second chapter is here enjoy!:D Feel free to review kitties! Special thanks to my amazing beta-reader Thrudgelmir2333 for his help!

 **Disclaimer:** Saint Seiya and its characters belong to Masami Kurumada.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Shion waved his hand and immediately a servant brought the King's Cake along with a silver knife; placing both on the table in front of the Pope's throne before walking away.

Aries rushed to the scene, drooling at the sight of crusted sugar. "Oh, who made this cake? Can I have a slice?" Mu asked.

"Sagittarius Aiolos did." Shion replied, ignoring the plead, and glanced at Aiolia. Hearing his brother's name, the Leo Saint frowned. The day before, Aiolos had promised him that they would spend the New Year's Eve together, but it was almost 12:00am and the Sagittarius hadn't shown himself yet.

The brown-haired boy hugged his knees. "Stupid Aiolos…" he muttered bitterly.

Sitting next to Aiolia, Shaka, the Virgo who would always keep his eyes closed, slightly turned his head towards his friend as if he could feel the pain in his heart.

"Isn't Aiolos one of the two candidates who are to become the Pope's successor?" Aphrodite, who had finally woken up, now asked Shura.

"Yes." the Capricorn drily replied "And the other one is Gemini Saga."

"Huh? Interesting…" a sly smile formed on the Pisces' lips.

Even though he had been quiet till that moment, Deathmask didn't let the chance slide and immediately let everyone who was listening know what his opinion on the matter was. The Cancer Saint smirked, "Saga's a beast. He'll definitely become the next Pope. No way Wingie McBoyscout can beat him to the post. I'll have a good laugh watching him try, though."

On the contrary, Aries Mu who generally avoided expressing his opinion regarding his fellow Gold Saints, now felt the need to stand up for the Sagittarius. "Well, I disagree, Deathmask" Mu spoke surprising Deathmask, "I believe that Aiolos is much better to become the Pope, but this is just my opinion." He said as humbly as he could.

Sadly, that didn't stop Deathmask from bursting out in laughter, "Oh please! _Aiolos_ , more suitable? Where did you base that logic on, the alchemic table in your desk? Saga is obviously the most powerful Gold Saint."

The Taurus Saint who was rather annoyed by Deathmask's remark, decided to break his silence, "I'm stronger than you, do I get your Temple? Besides, why are you laughing? Mu is talking about their personality, not their strength, and I agree with him; I also believe that Aiolos is more suitable."

"You have no idea what you are talking about, muscle head" Deathmask casually mocked, "Becoming the Pope has to do with power _not_ with personality."

Mu, who disliked arguments, shook his head in disappointment; "There we go again…" he sighed.

As if on cue to make things even worse, Aphrodite, who loved watching others argue, decided to interject himself in the conversation for the sake of arguing, "I'll have to agree with Deathmask, might makes justice after all, so it only makes sense the man who brings justice is chosen amongst the mightiest." Both Aphrodite and Deathmask aspired to that belief; it was one of the reasons they had become best friends in the first place.

"Agh, these bastards…" Milo said glaring at the Cancer and Pisces Saints.

"My-my how rude, but of course this is to be expected from a peasant." Aphrodite said smiling sarcastically. Despite being the most beautiful and elegant among the Gold Saints, whenever he would open his mouth he would become as poisonous as the roses in his garden. And those times, Milo just wanted to punch him right in the face.

Thankfully though, Camus would always be there to calm the Scorpio's impetuous temper down by rescuing the matter. "Dear Aphrodite," the boy took his glasses off, "mocking others only makes you look ugly, if you value your beauty you should better stop." The Aquarius commented coldly.

"Humph!" was all that the annoyed Pisces managed to utter and averted his gaze.

"And Deathmask," Camus then addressed "Were you not the one who said the strongest would surely win? I'm unclear why you insist on driving it down everyone's throats if you're so confident on Saga."

Deathmask, however, didn't back down as easily. "Maybe I just wanna remind you guys who's gonna be our next boss. Speaking of which" It was then that something drew his curiosity. "Has anyone seen the Sagittarius and Gemini Saints?" At the sound of his question some of the Gold Saints glanced around, but didn't see either of them.

"Where's your brother, Aiolia?" Aldebaran questioned but the brown-haired boy didn't know.

"Isn't it obvious?" Deathmask said, sticking his little finger in his nose, "Saga's probably kicking your brother's ass as we speak."

"Eww, gross!"

"Ugh, get over it, Aphrodite, we all do it!"

"Take that back Deathmask!" an enraged Aiolia yelled, clenching his fists. "I won't let you insult my big brother!"

The Cancer Saint laughed again; Aiolia was so easy to bait. Everyone knew that if someone made the mistake to insult his beloved brother it didn't matter if that person was a fellow Gold Saint, Aiolia would tear them to pieces.

Which worked out great for the Cancer, cause if the Leo tried anything funny in front of the Pope he would simply be expelled from the ranks of the Gold Saints.

"Wait, Aiolia." His voice made the Leo stop dead in his tracks, as an overpowering Cosmos had suddenly engulfed the Pope's chambers, stunning the rest of the Gold Saints. The Leo turned around and noticed that the one who had addressed him was none other than Virgo Shaka. The boy with golden hair, who had come all the way from India just a month before in order to become a Gold Saint, had become Aiolia's friend despite his bizarre culture and beliefs. Living a secluded life, as he would always meditate inside his Temple, Shaka had not often been the center of attention; nonetheless, all eyes in the room were now on him.

Aphrodite's jaw dropped, "This Cosmos is almost godlike…just who is this guy…?"

"Virgo Shaka, I've heard rumors that he's no longer human…" Aldebaran remarked, feeling rather uncomfortable. The outrageousness of the level he was sensing, however, forced a nervous chuckle of admittance out of him. "Now here's a power that might topple even Saga."

"W-what?! BULLSHIT!" Deathmask swallowed but managed to smirk, "Look, Blondie, your Cosmos is more impressive than I had thought, I'll give you that, but you don't stand a chance against Saga!" Even though he said so, his knees were shaking badly, so he reinforced his claim. "In fact, you wouldn't reach _my_ heels, much less his."

The Virgo smiled, "Oh, is that so? Your power must be really interesting. If you so wish, I'll let you choose your place among the realms of Samsara anytime, but not now. Today is a sacred day." His voice was serene; Shaka dispersed his Cosmos allowing his fellow Gold Saints to take a breath. Athena, who had been surprisingly quiet, now played with a strand of Mu's pink hair and was looking rather happy.

"I apologize for my rudeness, your Holiness. Please proceed with the celebration of the New Year's Eve." Shaka bowed his head in respect.

"Thank you, Virgo Saint." His Holiness then asked everyone to circle the table where the New Year's Cake had been placed upon. When the clock struck twelve, the Pope wished everyone a happy new year and made marks on the cake with the knife in order to divide it into fifteen equal pieces.

According to the Sanctuary's tradition, the first piece of the cake goes to the Goddess and thus the first piece belonged to little Athena; the second piece goes to someone who's related to the gods, so the Pope thought it would be wise to give the second piece to Virgo Shaka, since the boy carried the title of 'the Man closest to God'. The rest of the pieces are given out by age—from the eldest to the youngest member of the household. In other words, the third piece belonged to the Pope and even if he no longer lived in the Sanctuary, the fourth piece was for Libra Dohko, so it was merely laid aside in honor of him.

Finally, the very last piece of the cake was given to Scorpio Milo, who grumbled at how unfair the world was to kids.

As Aiolos had predicted, the kids were now digging through their cake pieces—some with more excitement than the others—in order to find the gold coin, which is said to bring good luck for the rest of the year to the one who finds it. Deathmask and Aphrodite were the first to eat their cakes but none of them had any luck. The two waited for the other Gold Saints to finish their cakes, and eventually noticed that apparently none of them had found the gold coin. Then, Deathmask whispered something to Aphrodite's ear and the Pisces nodded in agreement.

Not long afterwards, the Pope and the Gold Saints stepped outside to watch the fireworks that had been set off by some of the Bronze and Silver Saints. After everyone had left the room, Aphrodite and Deathmask set their evil plan into motion…

Yet for all that happiness some of them still realized something.

Where _were_ Saga and Aiolos?


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone chapter 3 is here! Once again, I would like to thank Thrudgelmir2333 for his help! :D

 **Disclaimer:** Saint Seiya and it's characters belong to Masami Kurumada!

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

The two children grabbed the cake pieces that belonged to Dohko and Athena and searched for the gold coin to no avail. There were now three pieces left on the plate, two of them belonging to Sagittarius Aiolos and Gemini Saga. Deathmask was about to grab the extra one, but then he heard someone entering the Pope's Chambers and with a startled yelp and a dash for the dark together with Aphrodite, they scanned their surroundings in search of a place to hide. The two children opened the first door closest to them and hid themselves there.

" _Shit… to think that someone would return this early…_ "Deathmask whispered as he and Aphrodite were looking through the half-opened door.

" _Shhh, be quiet…_ " the Pisces murmured with a silencing gesture. The two stared as the person stepped into their field of vision.

And Deathmask had to cover his mouth to contain a gasp of shock at the sight of a tall man dressed in red, fixing his hat. " _No way, you gotta be kidding me…_ "

" _Yeah…it's him…_ " Aphrodite confirmed, not knowing whether to be equally shocked or roll his cyan eyes at the folklorish cheesiness of the whole thing, as he saw the legendary old man with the long white beard—from the Christmas tales his mother would tell him—standing just a few steps away from him and Deathmask.

"It's Santa Claus!" the two Gold Saints exclaimed in one voice, but they quickly covered each other's mouth with their hands, when they saw Santa glancing around him.

"Who's there?" he asked. No answer. He turned around to leave but his beard fell off. "Dammit," he cursed as he picked it up, "this one keeps falling off! I should have wore the other one…" Coincidentally, he had turned his back at the two kids so they couldn't see his face, but it was more than enough to raise suspicion to the two children.

"Wait a sec…that's not Santa Claus." Deathmask furrowed his brows.

"I know, right? Santa doesn't have blue hair…" Aphrodite added, feeling slightly vexed at how easily they were initially fooled.

Without hesitating, they kicked the door open and attacked. "GET HIM! HIS BACK IS TURNED!" The Pisces grabbed the man by his long hair and while he was distracted, Deathmask pushed him to the floor. Although they were kids, the two were still Gold Saints who had undergone fierce training to earn their rank, and for them it was a piece of cake to immobilize the unknown man.

"You are under arrest by the fashion police!"

"Your beard betrayed you, fake Santa; now shows us your face!"

At that moment, the grand door that led to the Pope's Chamber's was opened and a fourth person walked inside. It was a man dressed in red and with the same white beard as the fake Santa.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Happy New Year everyone! Santa Claus is present!" he declared but none seemed to notice him. The two kids were too busy brawling with the fake Santa on the floor. Punches, kicks, and war cries could be heard all over the room and finally the fake Santa gave up.

However only a round of laughter came from their blows. "For Athena's sake, get off me, you two!" the man on the floor seemed to only feel their lightning fast punches as soft tickles, so the two kids backed off in horror at his power. They stared dumbstruck, as the man was literally rolling on the floor laughing.

"Your punches tickle me so much, I can't take this anymore…" he said. His hands raised in surrender, though the kids were too shocked to speak.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Stand up fake San—SAGA?" the other Santa exclaimed addressing the blue-haired man. His shock was so great that he didn't realize that his beard had fallen on the floor, thus revealing his true identity.

"A-Aiolos?" Saga was also taken aback, but none of the two young men were as astonished as Deathmask and Aphrodite; the two kids were still trying to figure out what was going on.

"What are you doing here? I thought you said you didn't want to pose as Santa!" the Sagittarius addressed Saga who was still lying on the floor.

"Same goes for you…didn't you say that you promised your little brother to spend the day with him?" the Gemini asked and added, "I thought that if you were to do so, then none would be left to pose as Santa and so I changed my mind for the sake of our comrades…"

The brown-haired man sighed, "Why didn't you tell me anything, Saga?" he asked but the Gemini averted his gaze from him.

"I didn't want you to know anything, it would be too embarrassing." He confessed reluctantly. Hearing his childish reply the Sagittarius chuckled softly. He then turned to face the Cancer and Pisces Saints. "We are sorry for this you two; we probably ruined your night…"

Deathmask crossed his arms behind his head, "Meh, I couldn't care less, I already knew that Santa doesn't exist, and this serves only to prove it further." He smirked confidently, but it wasn't the same for Aphrodite.

"S-santa…" the Pisces said as he was about to cry. Deathmask glanced at his friend and rolled his eyes, before he pulled a strand of Aphrodite's cyan hair which made the kid let out a painful "Ouch!" Be it with good or ill intentions, he absolutely hated it when people touched his hair and he would always lash out on them.

"Stupid poop-mask!" Aphrodite shouted, trying to stab his friend with the edge of the white rose which he had been holding, "I'm gonna suck out every single drop of your blood!" The Cancer Saint grabbed his arms in an attempt to defend himself. He knew that he was a goner if Aphrodite managed to pierce him.

"Calm down Aphrodite! It was a joke, I swear!" no matter what he told him the Pisces wouldn't listen. To make matters worse, although the Pisces had an otherwise lean and delicate appearance, in reality he was far stronger physically than Deathmask. The Cancer Saint was well-aware of that and that's why he avoided provoking him, but Aphrodite seemed about to cry and the only thing he could do to avoid that was to piss him off.

"You don't have to get so upset Aphrodite, Deathmask just wanted to help you in his own _unique_ way." Saga pointed out.

"Yeah, that's right!" Aiolos agreed and added "Besides, aren't you the most noble and beautiful among the twelve Gold Saints? That won't change even if you lose a hair strand."

The boy pondered on their words for a short while and afterwards he decided to let go off Deathmask, "I am sorry Saga, Aiolos…" he apologized blushing a little. He then turned to Deathmask "…I am sorry for calling you poop-mask."

"Well, I would expect you to say 'I'm sorry for trying to kill you', but I guess I can _live_ with that…" His unintentionally sarcastic remark made the other three Gold Saints laugh. It was then that the Sagittarius offered his hand to Saga to help him stand up.

"Thanks." The Gemini said with a smile.

"No problem, my friend, no harm done after all." Aiolos gave him a big grin. "We better get off these costumes, though. We caused kind of a ruckus and one of the younglings might see us. I mean, Mu is kind of a nose-on-the-books so he wouldn't be terribly shocked, but imagine if Aiolia or Mil—"

" _Aiolos, Saga_?!" Hearing their names, the two Gold Saints saw a young Milo staring at them with his big blue eyes.

The two older Gold Saints let out a sigh. " _Well crap!_ " Saga thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello everyone! Chapter 4 is here enjoy! As always, special thanks to Thrudgelmir2333 for his help! Enjoy and feel free to review :)

 **Disclaimer:** Saint Seiya and its characters belong to Masami Kurumada.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Aiolos tried to speak, "Um...I can explain, Milo, we…" but it was in vain. He had absolutely no idea what to tell the child.

"We just…" Similarly to his friend, Saga was also out of words. Judging by the look on his face, the Scorpio wasn't interested in what either of them had to say. He gave both a death stare so _fierce_ that Aphrodite's wrath a second ago felt like a pout.

"Uh-oh…" The Pisces and Cancer Saints embraced each other in fright, as they watched Milo clenching his teeth and fists; out of all the zodiacal signs, the Scorpio constellation was rumored to be the most vindictive and, if someone was able to hate with a deep passion like only Phoenix could emulate, it was none other than him, the youngest among the Gold Saints.

" _We are so screwed Aphrodite, we are gonna get caught in the crossfire…_ "Deathmask mumbled, clinging more and more on his friend.

" _We should get outta here while we still can…_ " the Pisces noted, also in whisper, watching carefully as the Scorpio was about to make his move.

"Santa Claus _doesn't_ exist and you are both liars! I _hate_ you, just _die_!" He screamed at the top of his lungs and tears started to flow from his eyes. To everyone's great surprise, Milo stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him as hard as he could.

Nothing could describe the negative emotions that the Sagittarius and the Gemini felt at that moment, as now they were both guilty of crushing the little kid's most treasured dreams due to improper communication on their part. All because they didn't trust each other over the matter of who would become the next Pope...

On the other hand, when Milo was gone, Aphrodite sighed in relief.

"That was so close…" the Pisces said and Deathmask nodded his head in response; the Cancer was still embracing Aphrodite and his shaky hands were like leaves on a tree. "Let go already!" The Pisces groaned as he slapped his hands away. "So much for you acting all _high_ and _mighty_ a minute ago!" he commented in frustration.

Meanwhile, the Pope and the Gold Saints who were outside now walked back inside as they had heard Milo's sudden yelling. There, the kids came face to face with the fake Santas and Camus let out a sigh, being the first to realize why Milo had yelled.

"I'll go find him." The Aquarius left the room from the front door.

Shura approached Deathmask, who was sitting on a sofa and asked him if he was alright since his face looked a bit _off-color_.

The Pisces had leaned his back against the wall, "He's fine, don't mind him, he just needs a little boost to the blood flow." he replied indifferently, bringing his white rose to his lips, which seemed enough to return at least the color blue to the Cancer's face.

Aiolia stared at his brother and gasped. "Is this the reason why you didn't show up earlier?" he questioned Aiolos.

It was about time the Sagittarius would take responsibility and face his little brother with the truth.

"Well, yeah…I decided to dress as Santa so I could see you and our comrades smile," the Sagittarius scratched the back of his head, "I'm sorry that I hid this fact from you and I'm sorry for letting you and the others down Aiolia…" he had a sad look in his teal eyes.

From Aiolos' perspective, the young man believed that he had failed his kid brother. He had told him that he would spend the day with him and although the siblings had swore to never keep secrets from each other, the Sagittarius hid the fact that he had dressed as Santa from his young brother; he lied to him not once but _twice_ , in a row. But what about Aiolia's perspective? What could the child possibly be thinking of his older brother now? Was he still the kind-hearted brother who cared about him _or_ had this changed by that sudden revealing? The Leo shook his head.

"It's fine, Aiolos, you don't have to apologize. You tried to make me and the rest of our comrades happy… that was actually really cool." he declared, giving a big hug to Aiolos.

The young man was surprised; his brother had acted far more maturely than him, "Thank you, Aiolia…" he said patting the child's head. The Sagittarius tried to hide a tear as he realized that his brother would grow up to become a great Gold Saint.

The boy giggled."Not to mention that you look kinda funny in this costume." His words flustered his brother.

Standing close to the Leo and Sagittarius, the Virgo Saint was listening to the two siblings and despite having his eyes closed; he could still imagine the expressions on their faces. The blonde smiled in content. "Indeed, this is gonna be a beautiful night…" Shaka said in a monologue, as he sat himself in a meditative position.

* * *

It was cold and windy outside. A cloak of dark clouds had covered the night sky and the moon was nowhere to be seen. Camus was descending the steps that led to the Pisces Temple in haste, when something cold landed on his nose; the child gazed upwards and noticed small, white snowflakes, falling from the sky. The Aquarius had been trained to survive under severely cold temperatures and he knew that unlike him, Milo, who was dressed in his casual clothes, would definitely freeze if he were to stay outside in the cold, rocky landscape of the Greek mountains.

Camus had to find him before the snowfall thickened.

The boy ran as fast as he could, glancing at his surroundings. For a child, he was one of the most stoic and level-headed among the Gold Saints, but now he could feel his heart pounding fast; last winter, Milo had been appointed to the hospital with hypothermia after he trained out in the snow. Things got so scary for a moment back then that they actually considered the chance of pulling Milo off the Scorpio Cloth training and Camus trembled at the idea of his friend getting sick again. With these thoughts in mind, he immediately stopped when he noticed the hundreds of red roses that were blocking his way.

That was it. The Aquarius couldn't move past the roses that Aphrodite had laid between the Pope's Chambers and the Pisces Temple. In fact, it would be dangerous for him if he tried to cross through them. The only reason they were able to celebrate New Years in the Pope's Chambers to begin with, was because Aphrodite had opened the way for a few hours. The Pisces wasn't expecting runaway children in the middle of the night.

Camus stood in place wondering what he should do. Should he go back? Should he try to cross through Aphrodite's garden? What about Milo? Lost in his thoughts, the boy wearing the glasses didn't notice that someone was crying nearby.

"Stupid Aiolos…Stupid Saga…I hate you liars…."

It was Scorpio Milo, who had sat next to Aphrodite's roses, crying his eyes out and cursing his fellow Gold Saints. This is what he would always do, when he felt upset. It helped unleashing his frustration. The Aquarius sighed in relief; looks like his friend was alright after all. He took off his blue scarf and approached Milo; Camus placed the scarf around the Scorpio's neck.

"You shouldn't cry here. Your bated breath will pull the poisonous rose air into your lungs." This didn't seem to interest the Scorpio in particular, so Camus tried a warmer approach. "Milo, you are not used to such low temperatures, you'll catch a cold." Scorpio didn't respond he just kept shedding tears. "You shouldn't run off like that in the middle of the night from your friends either..."

"Camus …" Milo suddenly spoke, interrupting the Aquarius, "you are my friend, so at least _you_ won't lie to me, right?" he asked as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

This question brought a small smile on Camus' face, "Why would I ever lie to you Milo?" he asked softly. "Doesn't sound like a very smart thing to do, if you ask me."

"Then tell me…Santa Claus _does_ exist right? He will come and bring us gifts, right?" his round eyes were staring at the Aquarius desperately. Camus wasn't sure what to reply. He, himself, didn't believe in the existence of the being called Santa Claus, but on the other hand he had no proof to disprove his existence either.

"I don't know…Maybe? I don't see why not." His reply was certainly not what the little Scorpio wanted to hear, but at least it was truthful.

Milo's face now slipped quickly beneath Camus' scarf. "So Santa really doesn't exist…" he said in a gloomy undertone.

"He _does_ exist."

Someone spoke all of a sudden. The person's remark made the Scorpio raise his gaze once again and look towards the direction the voice came from; the Aquarius did the same. It was dark and the two kids couldn't see clearly, but when the person stepped closer, Milo stood up at once when he realized who the unknown man was; his lips lifted upward revealing his teeth. Even Camus couldn't help but stare in admiration.

"I am sorry for being late. Milo, Camus." The white-bearded man said.

* * *

Aldebaran glimpsed on the table where the cake pieces were supposed to be and noticed that two of them were gone.

"Hey, who ate Athena and Dohko's pieces?" At first, one would think that the Taurus had posed a question to everyone, as his dark eyes darted around the room, though that would quickly prove to be untrue because by the time he said the word _pieces_ ,his stare had already been fixed on the Pisces and Cancer Saints.

Even when they didn't find the coin, Aphrodite and Deathmask didn't hesitate to swallow the cake pieces and now they had guilt written all over their faces. If they confessed to Aldebaran, they knew that there was no way he would let them get away with it. The kids glanced at each other and in a silent agreement both pointed their fingers at Saga and Aiolos. It was too convenient for them to lay the blame on their fellow Gold Saints.

"It was them!" both kids exclaimed almost simultaneously.

"I saw them with my very own eyes! They sneaked inside the Pope's Chambers and ate the cake pieces!" Aphrodite now insisted, trying to justify his and Deathmask's claim. Afterwards, it was the Cancer's turn to join the act.

"Yeah that's right! Aphrodite had to go poop and he told me that he saw them!" he tried to make the previous justification sound a bit more believable, but in return, he decided to sacrifice Aphrodite's dignity as a Gold Saint; this was the Cancer's revenge on Aphrodite for calling him 'poopmask'.

Aldebaran asked the Pisces if Deathmask's claim was true and seeing as how there was no other way to excuse himself, the proud Aphrodite decided—for the first time in his life—to admit to such an embarrassing statement. His cheeks flustered a deep red and as expected, the Taurus fell for it easily.

Convinced for their innocence, Aldebaran shifted his gaze from the kids and glared at the two teens. "Is that true, _Aiolos_ , _Saga_? Are _you_ the cake thieves? _Speak up_ or _else_ …I'll have to use _force_!" he warned them.

The two were tongue-tied; Aphrodite's reaction was so convincing that, even if they admitted to the truth, there was no way that the Taurus would believe them. Aiolos glanced at the Cancer and Pisces and noticed that both had an evil—almost psychotic grin on their faces; those two little sadists were surely enjoying themselves.

"We…well…" the Gemini made an effort to speak, but it was useless; no matter what he said, this was already checkmate. Aldebaran was clenching his fists in order to punish the two teens when the door to the Pope's Chambers opened and an old man who was holding Milo and Camus from the hands, stepped inside.

"Guys he's here!" Milo exclaimed in excitement, "Santa Claus is here!"


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys! Sorry for the late update! The fifth and final chapter is here, I hope you enjoy ^^ Special thanks to thrudgelmir2333 for his help!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Saint Seiya, it belongs to Masami Kurumada.

Feel free to review! :)

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

At the sound of Milo's words, every activity in the room ceased at once. There, at the entrance of the Pope's Chambers, was standing an old man clothed in red. He was rather short and the wrinkles on his face betrayed that he had lived for a very long time, probably more than a hundred years; but even so he was still able to carry a relatively large bag with him. The kids were thrilled and even the skeptic Deathmask and the distrustful Aphrodite both let their doubts aside when Pope Shion spoke.

"It's good to see you, Santa Claus. The youngsters have been expecting you." he addressed the elder with a smile.

"Thank you for inviting me, your Holiness. I apologize for being late." The old man responded and turned to Saga and Aiolos who were standing close to him, "Could you help me with this bag? An old man like me has trouble carrying it around." Aiolos now glanced at Saga. This was probably the Pope's work but the two teens weren't sure. Still, the young Gold Saints were thrilled and since the Pope seemed to trust him, it didn't matter much who this unknown old man was, so the two decided to play along.

The impatient kids circled Santa who now opened the bag he was carrying and took off the gifts which he handed over to the young boys with the help of the Gemini and Sagittarius Saints.

Pisces and Cancer, who had made their way in front of Santa, were the first to receive their gifts and they didn't hesitate to tear apart the colorful wrappings in order to find out what was hiding underneath.

"Oh! A makeup set! Thank you so much, Santa!"

"Wow, I have always wanted a megaphone! Thanks a bunch, old man. Time to get on everybody's nerves!"

The rest of the Gold Saints were also content with their gifts. Even Virgo Shaka, who never accepted anything, let a faint smile escape his lips after he had carefully unwrapped his present. At that moment he was approached by Aiolia who was holding a lion plush toy, "Milo got a water gun, Camus a book and I got this! The king of the jungles!" he exclaimed proudly but Shaka ignored him as he seemed too absorbed in his thoughts.

"Are those flower seeds?" The boy asked when he noticed the content of the small jar in the Virgo's hands, a curious tone in his voice. The Virgo nodded in response.

"That's kind of a strange gift. What do you need them for?" the Leo asked once again as he thought that Shaka's gift was rather unusual for a child, except maybe for someone like Aphrodite who loved flowers.

At his question the blonde smiled giving him an enigmatic reply. "Who knows…?"

Seeing as how it wasn't the first time he couldn't make any sense out of his friend's words, Aiolia decided to change the subject. "Shaka, I wanted to thank you for earlier; I would have definitely hit Deathmask and I would have been punished if it wasn't for your interference. Thanks, you are a true friend." He patted the blonde on the shoulder as a sign of affection.

" _Friend_ , huh?" the Virgo questioned calmly, he reminisced the time when the fearless Aiolia had entered his Temple without his permission, because he wanted to ask the Virgo to become friends. Back then, Shaka who had always been concerned with the world's suffering had felt an unusual feeling for the first time; it was _happiness_.

"Maybe planting these flower seeds can wait." He commented.

After all the gifts had been delivered, Santa was about to take his leave but the young Gold Saints asked him to stay for a little while longer. After all, that was the first time they met the legendary old man in person.

"Please don't leave just of yet, Santa!" Milo exclaimed as he grabbed the old man's hand.

"Yeah, stay for a little while longer! We wanna hear your stories!" the Taurus who held a baseball bat on his shoulders, added.

Next to him his friend, Aries Mu had left Athena in her crib in order to open his gift which turned out to be a toolbox for kids. "Me and Athena would also be interested in hearing your stories," he said and turned to the baby who was reaching for him. The child let aside his gift and took the little girl in his arms once more. She was holding a colorful rattle in her hand.

"Unfortunately I cannot stay. Kids all over the world are waiting to receive their gifts. I have to go to them." The smiling old man explained to the Gold Saints. Aiolos could see the disappointment in the youngster's faces. He too felt a little sad because he didn't know how to thank the unknown man for his kindness. If it wasn't for him the New Year's Eve would have certainly been a disaster.

The Sagittarius glanced around him trying to think of something, when his gaze fell on the cake pieces that were still on the table. "Santa, since you cannot stay with us why you don't at least have some of our homemade cake?" the teen offered.

"Ah, sounds like a great idea," the elder replied, "yes I would love to have something to eat since I am going on a long journey."

Aiolos waved at Saga who was standing the closest to the table. Gemini examined the three cake pieces that were still in the silver plate, but something didn't make sense to him. Why were there three cake pieces instead of two? Saga reasoned that since the Gold Saints were twelve, then the extra slices belonged to Athena and the Pope, but then whom was the fifteenth cake slice for? At that moment Gemini noticed something shining in his own cake piece. He hesitated for a moment but then he made up his mind. He carefully wrapped his cake piece in napkins and approached Santa Claus.

Saga had decided that he didn't want to be the one to win the golden coin. For some reason he only felt fear at the thought of being the luckiest among the Gold Saints, a fear that something really bad could happen. Maybe if he got rid of the lucky coin, maybe if he gave up trying to be the Pope's successor, then maybe just maybe, the voice in his head would stop calling his name…

He looked away apprehensively; once again dark thoughts were crossing his mind. The Gemini Saint had felt it several times before, another him that was persistently trying to devour him from the inside out. The young man knew that he should never allow this to happen coz if he did it would mean that his beloved ones would be in danger.

He glanced at the Pope but the latter averted his gaze. Saga then took a glimpse of a young Shaka who had opened his eyes; the blonde was giving him an otherwise emotionless stare but Saga felt as if the boy was able to read his mind. Could Gemini really get himself rid of his _curse_? Or would he be damned for eternity and drag everyone to Hell alongside him? No, he should _never_ allow this happen…

"Watch out Saga! You almost dropped the cake…" at Aiolos' remark the blue-haired blinked in surprise; the voice of his friend had brought the young man back to his senses, "I am sorry I felt a bit dizzy all of a sudden" Saga replied.

The Sagittarius sighed and took the cake from his friend's hands; he then turned to Santa, "please accept this."

The old man furrowed his brows and his expression seemed rather serious compared to before. As if he wanted to confirm something, he took a quick look at Saga. The latter didn't say anything, he simply swallowed.

"Is something wrong?" Sagittarius asked as he looked at the two.

The elder shook his head, "Thank you very much for your gift, Sagittarius and Gemini." he smiled at the young lads. As the young Gold Saints saw him off, Santa gave the Pope one last glance; this time though his smile was the same as the one you give to a long time friend. The Pope also returned the smile and for some reason he also waved his hand in a manner as if he was saluting him, which the Gemini and the Sagittarius noticed.

The kids showed Santa a secret path that would allow the old man to bypass Aphrodite's poisoned roses.

"Please Santa come see us next year too!" Aiolia exclaimed.

"We will be waiting for you!" The Taurus added.

"I am sure we will meet again youngsters, please take care of the Pope till that time comes okay?" The elder said as he patted a crying Milo's head. After they had said their goodbyes, the old man walked away. Saga had stood outside and watched him from afar. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice when Aiolos approached him.

"Why did you give him your cake piece, Saga?" he questioned.

Gemini took a few seconds to reply and it seemed to Aiolos that his friend had a melancholic look in his eyes, "No particular reason," he finally said.

Southeast of Athens, at the tip of the Attica peninsula, lied Cape Sounion; it was the place where the Sanctuary held prisoners of war during the ancient times. The old man who had just left the Sanctuary had somehow managed to cross a huge distance in a matter of minutes and was now facing the sea. He closed his eyes in order to hear the sound of the wind and when he opened them again he moved towards a path and descended downwards some stairs. When he reached the bottom Libra Dohko confronted the imprisoned man. He was a young teen with long blue hair. His eyes and expression were identical to Saga's.

Dohko put down the cake piece that the Gemini had given him earlier, "Your brother wanted you to have this." He told the young man.

The latter gave the elder Saint a smug smirk; "I don't need Saga's pity," Kanon replied, "soon the water levels around here will rise and I will be drowned anyways."

Seeing as how Kanon had accepted his fate, Libra didn't reply; he just turned around to leave, though before he exited the dungeon he spoke one last time, "This is a pity. You could have become a great Gold Saint alongside your twin brother...Gemini Kanon."

After Dohko had left, the young man turned his attention towards the cake. He took it in his hands and dug out the golden coin. "Hm, lucky me." he commented, staring at the shiny color which reminded Kanon of a golden armor, before smiling viciously, "It doesn't matter how much you resist, Saga, eventually you'll be the one to destroy the Sanctuary, not me, and I've made sure of it."

He tossed the coin up in the air and it ended up inside the water.

 **THE END**


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